3rd International Dialogue of Civilization and Tolerance Conference 2026
The International Conference on the Dialogue of Civilization and Tolerance will welcome experts from academia, politics, and other walks of life together to jointly tackle the questions at the core of the Dialogue of Civilizations. The conference will give a clear picture of the many aspects that are involved in a meaningful dialogue of civilizations. It will show that even for those who have been much involved in issues of dialogue, discussions are not always easy, when they touch upon specific values and norms. It will also show that if there is agreement among all parties involved that it is better to talk than to fight each other, dialogue is possible and leads to new and creative solutions to the common problems facing mankind.
Agentic Artificial Intelligence, New Media, and the Future of Family and Social Cohesion: A Human-Centered Perspective
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has rapidly evolved from a specialized research field into a pervasive component of daily life. Through digital assistants, recommendation systems, content generation tools, and emerging Agentic AI systems, AI increasingly influences communication, education, decision-making, and social interaction. While these technologies provide unprecedented opportunities for efficiency, accessibility, and innovation, they also raise significant concerns regarding trust, family relationships, identity formation, and social cohesion. This paper examines the societal implications of Agentic AI and new media, particularly their impact on families, children, and communities. It argues that technological advancement must be guided by ethical principles, human values, and responsible governance. Drawing on contemporary developments in AI and digital communication, the study highlights the importance of preserving human agency, empathy, tolerance, and cultural understanding in an era where intelligent systems increasingly participate in human decision-making processes. The paper concludes by proposing a human-centered framework for the responsible integration of Agentic AI within society.
Copyright (c) 2026 3rd International Dialogue of Civilization and Tolerance Conference 2026
Protecting Societies, Families, and Youth from the Misuse of Digital Platforms: A Human-Centered Imperative
As digital platforms become the primary arena in which more than 5.6 billion people, over two-thirds of the world's population, access information, the protection of societies, families, and the young from their misuse emerges as a defining challenge of the present era. This paper situates that challenge within the United Arab Emirates' distinctive model of intercultural dialogue and tolerance, advanced as a sustained national project for safeguarding social cohesion. It observes that roughly seventy percent of young people now derive their information, and frequently their convictions, from the internet, where fragmented and unverified content tends to divide communities rather than unite them. Drawing on the observation that children largely internalize the worldview of their parents until approximately the age of eleven, after which they enter an open and largely unmediated digital sphere, the paper underscores the family as the formative line of defines in cultivating discernment and resilience. It further notes the scale of global investment in digital infrastructure, exceeding six hundred billion dollars in 2026, and argues that a meaningful share of such expenditure must be explicitly human-cantered, oriented toward the wellbeing of families and communities rather than engagement alone. Positioning the convening as a recurring platform for evidence-based dialogue among scholars, policymakers, and practitioners worldwide, the paper concludes that protecting children and the future of societies requires sustained international cooperation and a deliberate reorientation of digital innovation toward human and communal flourishing.
The Impact of New Media and Artificial Intelligence on Family And Community
Artificial intelligence and new media are reshaping the human relationship to knowledge, communication, and identity in ways that exceed any prior technological transition, constituting a civilizational shift rather than a passing technical development. This paper examines that shift through a foundational paradox: while contemporary technology possesses an unprecedented capacity to generate and disseminate knowledge, the ethical question of how such progress may be placed in the service of humanity has remained unchanged since the dawn of civilizations. It argues that the family, historically the primary repository of values and identity, now faces unprecedented pressure within an open digital sphere in which algorithmic platforms and screens compete with educational and familial institutions to shape consciousness, opinion, and behaviour, particularly among children and adolescents who spend an increasing share of their lives online. Against this backdrop, the study advances the Emirati model as an integrative paradigm that couples sustained investment in innovation and artificial intelligence with the consolidation of tolerance, coexistence, and respect for diversity, positioning Abu Dhabi as a global platform for constructive dialogue and a bridge between cultures. It concludes that safeguarding the family and reinforcing social cohesion in the digital age require a global humanistic discourse and an international partnership uniting governments, educational and media institutions, technology firms, and civil society toward a more balanced, human-centred digital environment, affirming that genuine progress is measured not by the tools societies invent but by the values they preserve.
Becoming, Not Merely Producing: Moral Agency and the Family in the Age of New Media and Artificial Intelligence
Set against the United Arab Emirates' designation of 2026 as the Year of the Family, this address reframes the central question of the digital age from the technical to the moral: not what new media and artificial intelligence can do, but whether their use helps human beings become better people and strengthens the families and communities to which they belong. It proposes two evaluative questions for assessing any technology, whether it makes us better and more cohesive, and whether the time devoted to it enlarges or constricts our capacity to live, love, and serve others meaningfully. Positioning the family as the indispensable formative environment, likened to a mirror in which individuals confront imperfections they might not otherwise acknowledge, it argues that the home is the primary setting in which children acquire both values and the disciplined, exemplary use of emerging tools. Central to the argument is the principle of individual moral agency, the capacity to choose and act in accordance with what is good, honest, and just, which must be guarded against the addictive and manipulative tendencies of new media and against an uncritical trust in artificial intelligence. The address insists that the purpose of engaging technology is not the production of impressive content or analysis but human becoming: the formation of a resilient generation, secure in its identity. It concludes that technology should support, never supplant, the collective effort to help young people discover who they truly are and develop the moral agency that will strengthen their lives.
Keeping the Human at the Centre of the Digital Equation: Toward a Values-Based Vision for the Age of Artificial Intelligence
The defining question of the artificial-intelligence era, this paper contends, is not how far the technology will advance but what conception of humanity societies wish to build alongside it. Technology has ceased to be a set of neutral instruments and has become a force reshaping economies, politics, culture, and human consciousness; as algorithms increasingly generate content, steer behaviour, and shape public opinion, keeping the human being at the centre of the digital equation becomes an urgent civilizational and ethical imperative. The paper frames the digital age not as a virtual realm detached from reality but as an extension of human life, and identifies a cluster of attendant challenges, including information disorder, digital polarization, hate speech, content manipulation, information sovereignty, and intellectual security, that resist purely technical solutions and instead demand an integrated vision uniting legislation, ethics, education, media, and international cooperation. It positions intercultural dialogue as a strategic necessity rather than a cultural option, drawing on the United Arab Emirates' model of coexistence as an established national project that treats tolerance as a strategic asset for development and stability. Distinguishing the computational from the moral, the paper observes that artificial intelligence can process data, predict trends, and simulate language yet cannot generate values or substitute for human conscience. It concludes by calling for a global ethical charter for emerging technologies, responsible-use partnerships, truth-anchored digital media, and value-grounded education, affirming that civilizations endure by the values they uphold, not the tools they possess.
Artificial Intelligence, Religion, and Values: Opportunities, Risks, and the Family as the First Line of Defense
The accelerating integration of artificial intelligence into the domains of religion, culture, and values marks a profound transformation in the relationship between human beings and knowledge, yet this presence remains strikingly under-examined: studies addressing the representation of religious values and references constitute scarcely 0.2% of specialized artificial-intelligence research. This paper maps both the opportunities and the risks of that integration. On one hand, advanced neural translation has dissolved long-standing linguistic barriers, exemplified by the real-time rendering of liturgical texts into more than sixty languages, while large language models have surfaced substantial thematic convergences across scriptural and philosophical traditions, with one analysis identifying roughly 73% similarity between the Bhagavad Gita and the Upanishads, opening fertile ground for comparative dialogue and the recovery of shared human values. On the other hand, the study identifies a cluster of intellectual and ethical hazards: the reduction of spiritual experience to statistical data, generative hallucination on sensitive doctrinal matters, the simulation of interpretive authority that displaces accumulated human wisdom, the reproduction of cultural bias embedded in training data, and the flattening of layered religious language. It further examines the weaponization of digital narrative by extremist movements, whose algorithmically amplified content, echo chambers, and deepfake fabrications convert social platforms into instruments of radicalization, and argues that the family, supported by educational, religious, and media institutions, constitutes the first line of defense, cultivating critical discernment and intellectual immunity against digital misinformation and reinforcing social cohesion in an increasingly contested information environment.
The KRAB Framework: A Four-Stage Scientific Model for Measuring Tolerance Development in Diverse Societies
Tolerance is frequently treated as a moral aspiration or cultural sentiment; this study advances the contrasting proposition that it is a measurable, researchable, and governable social outcome, best cultivated through rigorous scientific inquiry. Its principal contribution is the KRAB framework, an original four-stage model that traces the formation of tolerance through Knowledge, Realistic understanding, Attitudes, and Behaviours, furnishing a precise analytical instrument for locating where, along the developmental sequence, tolerance is gained or lost. Drawing on a mixed-methods empirical study of the United Arab Emirates' exceptionally diverse population, the framework permits a society's standing at each stage to be reported on a common metric and disaggregated across demographic strata. The analysis identifies the attitude-behaviour gap, the difficult passage from favourable disposition to sustained conduct, as the decisive and most under-addressed challenge of tolerance governance, and ranks the relative effectiveness of the pathways through which tolerance is formed, finding that structured, institutionally embedded knowledge consistently outperforms informal exposure in producing durable outcomes. Positioning the UAE as an instructive contemporary case in which tolerance has been transformed from moral aspiration into measurable national strategy, the study demonstrates that evidence-based policy yields more durable tolerance than intuition or ideology. It offers the KRAB framework as a validated, replicable instrument for any diverse society seeking to study, measure, and strengthen coexistence, contributing both to academic knowledge and to the applied governance of social cohesion.
Knowledge as Tolerance Infrastructure: Institutions, Scientific Publishing, and the Governance of Coexistence in the UAE
While tolerance is commonly pursued through proclamation and symbolic gesture, this study argues that it is most reliably built, measured, and sustained through the systematic production, publication, and application of rigorous research delivered by credible institutions. Locating the mechanism that makes tolerance durable in organized knowledge rather than informal sentiment, it examines how institutional architecture maps onto the developmental stages of the KRAB model and where behavioural impact is gained or lost. The argument is advanced through two United Arab Emirates institutional cases: the National Tolerance Festival, analysed as a cultural and educational governance instrument, and the International Dialogue of Civilizations and Tolerance Conference, examined with particular attention to the role of the Emirates Scholar Centre for Research and Studies in converting conference dialogue into structured knowledge production, namely peer-reviewed publications, indexed research, and policy-relevant findings that extend impact far beyond immediate participants. The study further considers academic publishing as a global tolerance infrastructure, demonstrating through indexed scientific journals how citation networks, knowledge transfer, and international research visibility translate into institutional credibility and a national soft power grounded in scientific achievement rather than promotional narrative. It closes the loop between knowledge and social impact by showing how findings become evidence-based policy, data-driven education, and scalable intercultural programming. Concluding with strategic directions for expanding research capacity and international knowledge partnerships, the study offers the UAE experience as a replicable, scientifically grounded model for the evidence-based governance of coexistence in diverse societies.
القيم المشتركة بين الإسلام والديانات الأخرى في تعزيز ثقافة التسامح والحد من الكراهية الرقمية
في ظل تصاعد مظاهر الكراهية والتوتر بين أتباع الديانات في العالم المعاصر، ولا سيما في الفضاء الرقمي الذي أصبح المجال الأوسع للتعبير والتفاعل، تبرز الحاجة إلى دراسة علمية تُظهر القيم المشتركة بين الأديان الكبرى، ولا سيما الإسلام واليهودية والمسيحية والهندوسية والبوذية والكونفوشية، في تأصيل ثقافة التسامح ونبذ الكراهية. ويهدف هذا البحث إلى تحليل النصوص الأساسية في تلك الديانات لاستنباط الأسس الأخلاقية والإنسانية المشتركة التي تدعو إلى احترام الآخر، ونبذ العنف، ومواجهة الكراهية بمختلف صورها، بما في ذلك الكراهية الرقمية المنتشرة عبر وسائل التواصل الحديثة. وتسعى الدراسة إلى إثبات أن أصول الأديان السماوية والشرقية على اختلافها تتفق في جوهرها على قيم الرحمة، والعدالة، والتسامح، وأن ما يُلاحظ من ممارسات سلبية أو خطابات تحريضية في الواقع المعاصر هي انحرافات فردية أو جماعية لا تعبّر عن جوهر تلك الأديان. وبذلك يسعى البحث إلى تقديم مقاربة علمية مقارنة تُبرز إمكان توظيف هذا الإرث القيمي المشترك في بناء وعي رقمي متسامح يُسهم في الحد من الكراهية في العالم الرقمي المعاصر.
Cultural dialogue has emerged as one of the most critical mechanisms for promoting tolerance
Cultural dialogue has emerged as one of the most critical mechanisms for promoting tolerance, peaceful coexistence, and mutual understanding in an era defined by globalization, migration, and increasing cultural encounters. As societies become more interconnected through technological, economic, and social processes, the frequency and intensity of intercultural interactions have expanded dramatically. While this expansion provides significant opportunities for cooperation and shared development, it simultaneously generates tensions rooted in cultural misunderstanding, identity insecurity, and competing value systems. This extended abstract examines the role of cultural dialogue within contemporary multicultural environments, focusing on how structured and meaningful cultural exchange can contribute to reducing prejudice, strengthening social cohesion, and building sustainable foundations for tolerance. The study situates itself within the interdisciplinary field of cultural studies, drawing on theoretical insights from postcolonial theory, intercultural communication, globalization studies, and identity theory. The concept of culture is understood not as a static set of traditions or practices, but as a dynamic and constantly evolving system influenced by historical experiences, power relations, and global interactions. Cultural dialogue, therefore, is conceptualized as an active process in which individuals and communities engage in mutual learning, negotiate meanings, and reshape their identities through interaction.
More Clicks, Less Context: Why Religion Is Often Misunderstood Online
Religions are often encountered today through digital media—especially by young people. In German-speaking contexts, public debates and online stories sometimes portray religions through simplified frames, stereotypes, or isolated quotations. This keynote takes a practice-oriented approach and discusses how such misrepresentations can shape perceptions, emotions, and everyday interactions—at school, in peer groups, and in broader society. Using selected examples from German-language media and social media, the talk highlights typical patterns of misinterpretation (e.g., generalisations, selective attention to conflict, or presenting individual voices as representative of an entire tradition). A central focus lies on youth: Where do they get their “religious knowledge” online? Which sources do they trust? How do they deal with contradictory narratives, sensational content, and peer pressure in digital spaces? The contribution also outlines accessible educational responses—simple ways to strengthen critical thinking, respectful communication, and constructive engagement with difference—without requiring specialised technical knowledge. Depending on the conference needs, the keynote can be shaped more strongly toward schools, community settings, or public discourse.
التسامح في عيون الرحالة الغربيين ، قراءة في الوثائق والمذكرات التاريخية
سوف تناقش هذه الدراسة جذور التسامح في دولة الامارات بداية من حكم الشيخ زايد بن خليفة بن شخبو ط آل نهيان 1855- 1909 مروراً بباقي حكام دولة الامارات بالوثائق والصور والمقابلات الشفاهية التحليلية والمبادرات التي عكست تسامح دولة الامارات واثره في المجال المحلي والدولي واستمرت عبر الأجيال وقد بلور كل قائد في دولة الامارات طريقته المتميز في تطبيق قيم التسامح في المجتمع.
Navigating Digital Spaces with Respect, Dialogue, and Digital Responsibility
Digital spaces have become central to how young people construct identity, express belonging, and engage with diverse cultural, religious, and social communities. While these platforms offer unprecedented opportunities for inclusion, creativity, and civic participation, they also intensify risks related to polarization, misinformation, cyberbully, identity-based discrimination, and exclusionary narratives. This paper examines how youth navigate digital environments and analyzes the role of respectful dialogue and digital responsibility in fostering inclusive online communities. Using a qualitative and conceptual research approach, the study synthesizes existing literature, policy frameworks, and case-informed observations on youth participation across social media platforms, online forums, and digital civic spaces. Particular attention is given to processes of identity formation, representation, belonging, and intercultural interaction in digitally mediated environments. The paper explores the tension between freedom of expression and ethical responsibility, arguing that inclusive digital engagement requires not only access and voice but also empathy, critical digital literacy, and mutual respect. The paper further highlights the importance of youth-led dialogue initiatives, peace-oriented digital citizenship education, and inclusive governance frameworks in shaping safer and more tolerant digital spaces. By positioning young people as active agents of change rather than passive users of technology, the study proposes practical strategies for empowering youth to promote respectful dialogue, counter online exclusion, and contribute to peaceful coexistence in multicultural societies. The findings contribute to global discussions on youth inclusion, digital citizenship, and civilization dialogue in the digital age.
AI and Society Order - Dangers and Opportunities
As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly woven into daily life, its influence on family and society dynamics are both profound and complex. AI offers remarkable opportunities when it comes to education, information, media and community at large. Yet, it also brings new dangers in the forms of information management and reliability, erosion of privacy, narrative shaping and the potential reshaping of authority and societal relationship. This session will explore how AI technologies transform the structure, communication, and emotional balance in today's society By examining both the risks and the potential benefits, participants will discuss how to navigate a future where the boundary between human connection and digital intervention continues to blur.
AI, New Media, and Societal Resilience: Protecting Families, Countering Online Recruitment, and Learning from the UAE Model of Coexistence
Artificial Intelligence and new media are transforming societies at unprecedented speed. While these technologies offer opportunities for education, connectivity, and innovation, they also accelerate polarization, enable disinformation, and amplify extremist recruitment—often targeting families, young people, and vulnerable communities. This manuscript argues that extremism prevention in the AI era must move beyond narrow enforcement-based frameworks and adopt a societal resilience approach integrating governance, education, community trust, and value-based dialogue. In Europe, the threat landscape is not limited to Islamist extremism. The growing influence of far-right radicalization and the alarming rise of antisemitism represent a serious challenge to democratic cohesion. Germany, shaped by a dark historical legacy, carries a particular responsibility to confront antisemitism with clarity, consistency, and societal unity. The paper highlights the UAE as a relevant model of coexistence-driven governance, where tolerance is institutionalized through initiatives such as the Abrahamic Family House, Hedayah, and structured interfaith engagement. These approaches demonstrate how security policy can be aligned with social harmony and preventive strategy. The manuscript concludes with strategic recommendations emphasizing responsible AI governance, digital literacy, community-based prevention, and international cooperation—particularly through UAE–Germany partnerships that strengthen resilience, stability, and coexistence.
Devil’s AI-vocate: Using LLMs to Encourage Perspective-Taking and Empathy
Political disagreement is increasingly experienced not only as a clash of opinions, but as a clash of identities and values. Any dissent is assumed to be due to the other person being either misinformed, and so in need of being presented with “the truth”, or being morally corrupt, representing an evil that needs to be fought. Against this backdrop, we explore whether structured interactions with Large Language Models (LLMs) can foster tolerance and help individuals respect opposing viewpoints. In our study, we utilize LLMs to create a” digital twin” of a participant’s own stance on a divisive issue. We then ask the participant to engage in counter-attitudinal advocacy by playing the” devil’s advocate” and arguing against their own beliefs. Our objective is not to change the participant’s underlying opinion, but to reduce out-group animosity and increase empathy for alternative perspectives. In this talk, I will detail our methodology and will present results from this ongoing research. This work builds on our prior work [ZKC+25] of using AI to motivate reflection in a political context, but it shifts from a goal of informing to a goal of de-polarizing.
The Strategic Role of Generative AI in Augmenting Emotional Intelligence, Empathy, and Interpersonal Connections for UAE Families with Children of Determination
As the United Arab Emirates (UAE) continues its trajectory toward becoming a global leader in artificial intelligence (AI), the integration of these technologies into the social fabric, specifically within families with Children of Determination, presents a transformative opportunity. This position paper explores how generative AI (GenAI) and affective computing can enhance emotional intelligence (EI), foster empathy, and strengthen interpersonal connections. By synthesizing recent literature and local initiatives, the paper identifies key mechanisms such as multimodal emotion sensing, AI-scaffolded reflection, and faith-rooted parental guidance.
Using AI tools to Understand changes realities in the MENA region
Over the past decade, social media has significantly impacted terrorism and counterterrorism, serving as a platform for incitement to violence under the guise of religious preaching. This study explores the critical role of preachers preaching righteous behavior, a process known as Da’wa in Islam. Focusing on Militant Jihadist Da’wa calling to violence, the research analyzes 6000 posts from Darknet forums associated with Jihadist groups from 2017 to 2018. The study improves the detection and understanding of militant Jihadist preaching by using an advanced method called Reciprocal Human-Machine Learning. The study demonstrates the feasibility of better detection and a deeper understanding of influencing terrorists.
Token Economics and Governance Making AI Accountable to Family and Community
Generative AI is now the fastest-adopted consumer technology in history, yet no family, enterprise, or government audits the tokens that power it. This paper introduces the concept of Token Economics and Token Governance as a dual framework for AI accountability at every scale — from the household to the nation. It presents HIVE HQ, an open governance platform built on the Token Telemetry Protocol (TTP), which captures metadata-only telemetry from AI usage without ever reading prompt or completion content. The paper defines three foundational questions every civilization must answer: where tokens go, what they cost, and who controls them. It articulates a Zero Content Principle that enables visibility without surveillance, a schema-enforced governance block with frozen fields that refuse promises the system cannot keep, and a Shadow AI detection model that surfaces unsanctioned providers operating within homes and institutions. The framework is evaluated against the specific risks AI poses to family integrity — including child-AI emotional bonds, education outsourcing, and health data exposure — and to community trust, where civilizational dialogue requires transparency in AI governance posture. Four principles are proposed for governable AI: metadata only, frozen fields, declared residency, and visibility without surveillance. The paper argues that tokens are simultaneously economic units and governance decisions, and that making them visible is the precondition for accountability, tolerance, and informed dialogue in the age of AI.
From Artificial Intelligence to Artificial Understanding: Ensuring Equitable Dialogue in an Energy-Driven Digital World
This is 3 minutes talk as per the invite received to Khalifa University and directed to faculty. I was requested to upload the presentation for review, and I could not find specific link for attaching it. so I am adding it here This talk explores how artificial intelligence is transforming the way civilizations interact, not only as a technological tool but as a mediator of perception and understanding. It highlights how unequal access to digital infrastructure and energy resources risks creating new divides in participation and representation. Moving beyond “Artificial Intelligence,” the talk introduces the concept of “Artificial Understanding”, a human-centered approach to designing inclusive, ethical, and culturally aware technologies. Ultimately, it calls for deliberate choices to ensure that AI fosters mutual understanding rather than deepening global inequalities.
Interfaith Encounter Association – Building Peace in the Holy Land and Beyond
IEA realize that our conflict here is a neighbors', or even: a family, quarrel. In this kind of dispute the most important element is the relationships. Until the relationships are healed these issues cannot be settled. The challenge of building peace in the Holy Land is the building of inter-communal relations, on the civil-society level, from positive and deep human interactions. Religion has to be involved both due to being a powerful force that should be used for building relations rather than damaging them and to being at the heart of existence and identity, even for non-religious people. IEA formed 136 ongoing groups of interfaith encounter across the Holy Land, leveraging the 7th of October to increase the process through 15 new groups.
Healing Trauma in the Digital Age: From Polarization to Partnership through Human Encounter
In a world shaped by ongoing conflict and deepening polarization, interreligious relations are often marked by fear, mistrust, and collective trauma. Today, these traumas are frequently amplified and reactivated by the digital landscape, where algorithms and echo chambers can exacerbate division, reinforcing anger instead of fostering healing. Nowhere is this more visible than in regions such as Israel–Palestine, yet the challenge is profoundly global. While interfaith initiatives have long emphasized tolerance and coexistence, these approaches often fall short when confronted with the deeper, unaddressed forces of identity and lived trauma. This talk proposes a shift from tolerance to transformation—reframing interreligious engagement not as an abstract ideal, but as a lived, relational process rooted in identity, faith, and human encounter. In an era where digital mediation often strips away our shared humanity, I argue that we must prioritize the irreplaceable power of the face-to-face encounter, while also developing new models for authentic, human-centric connection within digital spaces. Drawing on extensive interreligious work across global contexts, and on the founding and leadership of an interfaith center dedicated to Jewish–Muslim engagement, the presentation offers an integrated approach that combines experience, thought, and identity formation.
From Polemic to Partnership: Accessible Islamic Texts
This paper presents three recent projects of the Al-Sadiqin Institute as a model for how new media and artificial intelligence can serve responsible religious dialogue, family and community life, and community trust. The first project is the release of Volume 1 of a complete English translation of Ibn Hazm’s al-Fiṣal fī al-Milal wa-l-Ahwāʾ wa-l-Niḥal, accompanied by notes and critical commentary. The second is the release of thirty-four volumes of Tafsīr al-Qurʾān: A Complete English Translation of Classical Qurʾānic Commentaries, presenting accessible English renderings of major classical commentaries including al-Ṭabarī, al-Baghawī, al-Qurṭubī, al-Bayḍāwī, Ibn Kathīr, al-Jalālayn, al-Suyūṭī, and al-Shawkānī. The third is the construction of a translated, segmented corpus of ninety-five major Islamic works prepared for AI-assisted querying and research. Together, these projects address a central challenge of the digital age: religious communities increasingly encounter each other through short media fragments, online controversy amplified by algorithms, and inherited polemical summaries rather than through primary sources. By making core Islamic materials searchable, readable, and critically annotated, the Institute seeks to move Muslim-Jewish dialogue from goodwill alone to documented source-based engagement. The goal is not to erase religious difference, but to identify neglected building blocks within Islamic tradition that can support mutual recognition, honest disagreement grounded in sources, and a covenantal model of coexistence. In this way, digital humanities and AI can strengthen rather than weaken family and community life, provided that they are anchored in textual responsibility, human dignity, and respect for inherited religious law.
AI-Driven Media and Its Impact on Moroccan Youth and Families
This paper examines how artificial intelligence (AI)–driven social media platforms are reshaping family dynamics and youth identity formation in Morocco. Drawing on recent studies of digital media usage, youth engagement, and psychosocial outcomes, it explores the dual role of AI-powered platforms in strengthening communication while also deepening generational divides. Social media offers new opportunities for expression, empowerment, and informal learning, particularly for marginalized groups such as rural women and Socially Excluded Youth. However, it also introduces risks including misinformation, cultural fragmentation, and rising psychological distress among young users, often linked to algorithmic engagement patterns. Through a qualitative synthesis of existing literature and selected case studies, the paper argues that AI-mediated communication is redefining authority, values, and intergenerational dialogue within Moroccan families. It concludes by advocating for media literacy, ethical AI governance, and inclusive digital policies to ensure a balanced and socially beneficial integration of emerging technologies.
Youth, identity ,and inclusion: Navigating digital space with Respect and dialogue
The rapid expansion of digital media has significantly transformed how young people interact, communicate, and form their identities. Social media platforms, online communities, and AI-driven systems have become central to youth culture, influencing how they see themselves and others. Unlike previous generations, today’s youth grow up in a highly connected digital environment where identity is not only shaped offline but also continuously constructed and reconstructed-online. While digital spaces provide opportunities for creativity, self-expression, and connection, they also raise important questions about inclusion, respect, and ethical engagement. This paper examines how youth navigate these digital environments and how respect and dialogue can foster healthier and more inclusive online communities.
Why We Need AI and Each Other - Can AI Help Heal the Abrahamic Family?
At a certain stage in my life, I asked myself: Why did the Creator (Hashem, Allah) create multiple faiths? Why bring the Jewish people back to a land which is also inhabited by others? It took me many years and raising eight children to understand why the One Creator would create multiple faiths. Just as each child in a family is different although he or she has the same father and mother, each faith is unique and different but with the same loving God who wants us all to get along and care for each other and the world. Sixteen years ago, a pastor asked me to study Torah with him on a weekly basis. Within months, I understood why I needed foreigners in my life in order to fulfill my divine purpose. After sixteen years of studying and seeking purpose together, we started to ask: How can we share this experience, inspire others, and scale this experience? In this paper, I share lessons learned from bringing up my children and from studying with Christian and Muslim brothers and sisters. We will demonstrate how AI (artificial intelligence) and interfaith collaboration can work together to fulfill a shared Abrahamic purpose. By emphasizing the value of significant others — diverse individuals who challenge and refine our perspectives — we suggest that multiple faiths exist to drive humanity toward a harmonious partnership while still keeping each faith’s unique character and autonomy. To scale this vision, we developed the Agora AI platform, which hosts specialized agents like Noam AI to provide trustworthy, personalized guidance. Noam AI increases impact by automating complex tasks while maintaining strict theological and factual accuracy. We advocate for using technology to bridge cultural divides and empower individuals to act collaboratively with autonomous initiative for the benefit of all.
السيادة المعلوماتية: تحصين المجتمعات في عصر التضليل الرقمي
|نقف اليوم أمام واحد من أخطر التحديات التي تواجه الاستقرار السوسيولوجي والأمن القومي في القرن الحادي والعشرين؛ وهو "التضليل الرقمي". إننا لا نتحدث هنا عن مجرد أخبار خاطئة أو شائعات عابرة، بل عن صناعة استراتيجية تهدف إلى إعادة هندسة الوعي الجمعي، وتفكيك النسيج المجتمعي من الداخل، عبر استهداف النواة الصلبة لأي أمة: الأسرة. في غرف الأخبار التي أدرناها لثلاثة عقود، كان لدينا "بوابو حقيقة" يفلترون المعلومات قبل وصولها للمتلقي. اليوم، مع الانفجار الرقمي، سقطت هذه البوابات، وأصبح كل فرد "ناشراً" يملك القدرة على الوصول للآلاف، ولكن دون امتلاك أدوات التحقق المهنية. هذا الفراغ المنهجي حوّل الفضاء الرقمي إلى بيئة خصبة "للفيروسات المعلوماتية" التي تهاجم العقول قبل الحواسيب. لماذا تُستهدف الأسر والمجتمعات؟ المعلومة المضللة لا تبحث عن الحقيقة، بل تبحث عن "العاطفة". إنها تصمم بعناية لتثير الخوف، الغضب، أو الصدمة. وعندما تدخل هذه المعلومات إلى البيت الواحد، فإنها تخلق انقساماً فكرياً بين الأجيال، وتزعزع الثقة في المؤسسات الوطنية والدولية، بل وتدفع أحياناً نحو تبني سلوكيات اجتماعية وصحية مدمرة بناءً على معطيات وهمية.|
A Jewish Appreciation of Muhammad (PBUH) and Its Contemporary Significance for Coexistence in the Middle East
The Middle East is home to a rich tapestry of religious, ethnic, and national identities. The stability and future of the region depend largely on whether these identities are experienced as sources of conflict or as threads within a shared human story. In recent years, the United Arab Emirates has emerged as a regional beacon of coexistence and mutual respect, exemplified by initiatives such as the Abrahamic Family House. Yet for such a vision to contribute to lasting regional stability, it must become reciprocal and deeply rooted across the broader Middle East. The goal is not merely tolerance, which can imply enduring the presence of the other as a burden, but genuine fraternity: seeing members of other faiths and cultures as partners in a shared moral and spiritual journey. One important dimension of this future is the cultivation and dissemination of a Jewish appreciation of Islam in general, and of Muhammad (PBUH) in particular. In this lecture, Rabbi Dr. Nagen, both a rabbinic scholar and academic researcher — will present rabbinic voices throughout Jewish history that not only acknowledged the legitimacy of Islam but also viewed its emergence and spread as part of divine providence. Among these are traditions that interpret the flourishing of Islam as a fulfillment of the biblical blessing bestowed upon Hagar and Ishmael, as well as rabbinic opinions that regarded Muhammad (PBUH) as a prophet sent to humanity. The talk will further explore how these perspectives resonate with the vision articulated in the Qur’an (5:44–48): that religious diversity and multiple sacred traditions exist within the will of God, and that the Abrahamic faiths are called not to erase one another, but to work together in the service of the Divine. At a time of profound tension in the region, the widespread dissemination of such ideas, made increasingly possible through modern technology that transcends geographic and linguistic barriers, has the potential to transform perceptions throughout the Middle East. It can help foster a future in which people no longer see one another as rivals competing for legitimacy, but as partners in shaping a shared and sacred story.
The Double-Edged Sword: How New Media and Artificial Intelligence Are Reshaping Family Structures and Community Cohesion
The rapid proliferation of new media platforms and artificial intelligence technologies is fundamentally altering the social fabric of families and communities worldwide. While these innovations carry enormous promise for connectivity, education, and inclusion, they also introduce complex risks that threaten relational depth, cultural identity, and community resilience. This paper examines both dimensions from a strategic and empirical standpoint, drawing on over three decades of research and consultancy across governments and enterprises in the Middle East, Asia, Europe, and beyond. At the family level, AI-driven content recommendation systems and algorithmically curated social media environments are reshaping communication patterns, attention spans, and shared values. Generative AI and conversational agents are increasingly mediating how individuals, particularly children and adolescents, form beliefs, seek advice, and perceive the world around them. While this creates new opportunities for personalized learning and cross-cultural dialogue, it also accelerates the fragmentation of family narratives and the erosion of intergenerational knowledge transfer. At the community level, new media ecosystems are redefining civic participation, cultural expression, and social trust. AI-powered misinformation, deepfakes, and targeted influence campaigns pose direct threats to public discourse and communal harmony, particularly in pluralistic societies. Conversely, when governed responsibly, AI tools can foster inclusion, amplify marginalized voices, and support culturally sensitive service delivery at scale. This paper proposes a governance-centered framework for harnessing AI and new media in ways that reinforce, rather than disrupt, family bonds and community cohesion. Drawing on the DC-METRICS framework and insights from the Digital Cooperation Organization’s 2025 and 2026 Digital Economy Trends Reports, the paper advocates for policy architectures that embed ethical AI principles, digital literacy mandates, and culturally adaptive design into platform governance. It calls on governments, academic institutions, and technology developers to align around a shared commitment: ensuring that digital transformation strengthens human connection rather than replacing it.
The Impact of Artificial Intelligence and Social Media on Family Values and the Development of Emirati Adolescents: Evidence from Emirati Families
The Emirati family is slowly but surely losing a room they never knew they were in. As the infrastructure of adolescent attention is revolutionized by artificial intelligence, social media platforms are taking the place of the family as the primary arena where values are to be generated and nurtured. And yet, this is a society of great technological and scientific leadership and immense cultural roots. The country is at a crossroads and it is a moment unparalleled in history and, quite simply, with no roadmaps to guide it. The study presented here thus explores this pivotal moment through the eyes and experiences of 46 Emirati families who are currently at the forefront of this challenge as they attempt to come to terms with the changes brought about by this incredible revolution. Using a structured field survey conducted with Emirati households containing adolescents aged between 10 and 19 years; the full span of adolescence as defined by UNESCO1; and situated within the UAE's National AI Strategy 2031 and the Year of the Family 2026, the paper examines three core issues: how Emirati families perceive the intellectual and cultural risks emanating from social media toward their adolescent children; how artificial intelligence may serve as a protective and pedagogical tool for adolescent development; and within what types of human-centered, culturally sensitive structures the integration of family and technology may be rendered legitimate and effective.2 While 67.4% of Emirati families with adolescents reported providing continuous intellectual guidance and support, the data simultaneously reveals that 56.5% of adolescents spend four to over six hours daily on social media platforms, with 26.1% exceeding six hours of usage every single day.3 In essence, the intellectual efforts of families are being structurally offset by the volume and velocity of digital exposure. Social media and peer networks have overtaken the family as the dominant force shaping the intellectual and value formation of adolescents.3,4 The gap this study identifies is therefore not merely one of parental effort versus adolescent habit; it is a structural asymmetry between a family operating at human scale and platforms operating at algorithmic scale.